Bataan fishermen seek to return to Panatag

MARIVELES, Bataan: Fishermen of this province on Wednesday appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte to help them fish again at the disputed Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal in the South China Sea (West Philippines Sea) by raising the issue with China.

The President is currently in China on a state visit.

Flordeliza Salota, president of Sisiman Fishing Operators Association here with more than 400 members in 32 fishing boats, said Duterte’s representation will bring back their livelihood.

The group has not returned to the Scarborough Shoal the past seven months and some of them have shifted to fishing at the Commodore Reef near Palawan after a sea row between the Philippines and China over the Scarborough Shoal, or Bajo de Masinloc to fishermen in Zambalesas.

Salota said aside from their wish to be back at Scarborough again, they are also appealing to the President to regulate the entry of Vietnamese fishermen in Philippine fishing grounds, particularly at the Commodore Reef near Palawan.

She claimed that Vietnamese fishermen have been using fishing nets and super lights that catch even small fishes.